Ryan Nugent-Hopkin's season is over. He will have shoulder surgery, as early as this Tuesday in Cleveland.

He has a suspected labrum tear in his left shoulder. Last year they fixed his AC joint on the same shoulder, but now he will need the same surgery Taylor Hall had last year.

Hall's season ended on March 27th last year, he had surgery on April 3rd, and he played his first game in OKC on November 2nd, 2012.

Nugent-Hopkins might have surgery as early as this Tuesday, April 23rd, but that means he likely won't play until mid-November. Due to the lockout the Oilers didn't have to rush Hall back, and the Oilers will need to fight the urge to get RNH back on the ice next season.

Just like Hall, Nugent-Hopkin's injury dates back to junior. Hall told me last fall that the surgery process is painful, but that he felt much better, he also said he was glad he didn't have to rush back due to the lockout. The Oilers must play it safe with RNH in October and give him significant time to heal.

It is fair to ask why RNH didn't have this surgery a month ago because it was clear from the start of the season that he's been struggling. I wasn't at the morning skate so I couldn't ask him, but it is something I will ask tomorrow. I suspect the answer will be that they were the hunt for the playoffs and the doctors said he couldn't injure it any worse than it was.

There is no chance Nugent-Hopkins will be ready for the season opener, and that means the Oilers will be without their #1 centre. I understand the Oilers wanted to compete for the playoffs this year, but I think they should have sent Nugent-Hopkins to the surgeon much sooner.

One of Canada's most versatile sports personalities. Jason hosts The Jason Gregor Show, weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m., on TSN 1260, and he writes a column every Monday in the Edmonton Journal. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JasonGregor

Sather won his cups as a coach and a GM. What has Lowe won since he stopped following Messier around... crickets... besides my opinion of low has nothing to do with Sather. I judge the man on his own record. Lowe being a living piece of hockey paraphernalia for Katz. Does not excuse his arrogance and mismanagement of my beloved Oilers.

As a side note the next time Sourays in town we should give him an ovation for being the only person on the "inside" to call out Klowe and company.

STOP BLAMING LOWE. THIS IS NOT LOWE'S FAULT. THIS IS TAMBELLINI'S FAULT. I'M GETTING FED UP WITH LOWE GETTING BLAMED AND TAMBELLINI GETTING A FREE RIDE. THIS IS TABELLINI'S FAULT AS IT TAKES HIM TOO LONG TO ASSESS. STOP THE LOWE BASHING. NO WONDER PLAYERS DON'T SIGN IN EDMONTON. THEY'LL GET BASHED AND RUN OUT OF TOWN BY SO-CALLED OILERS FANS.

Oilers are still getting bashed for drafting Hall instead of Seguin. They got bashed big time when Seguin got his first goal prior to Hall.

Oilers are still getting bashed for drafting RNH over Landeskog/Larsson. They say Landeskog was the better player and RNH should be sent back to junior to save $.

Oilers are still getting bashed for drafting Yakupov ahead of Murray/Galchenyuk. They say they need defesnse and not a forward.

The bashing goes on and on because Slats is no longer the GM.

The Oilers drafted the right players period. The only debatable was Hall Seguin. On Slats, he got a free pass for his drafting, no one cared cause he was a master of attracting players through trades.

On Lowe, he's made 2 playoffs in 10 years. His rests on his laurels and has the gaul to say he's qualified because he rode coat-tails to 6 cups, and 2006 his team caught lightning in a bottle. Yes that's a slam, I respect his competitive nature, and his drive but drive doesn' t make you competent, it makes you overlook the other intangibles your missing. Its all he has, the intangibles that make Lou Lamorrello great, Bryan Murray outstanding, and Holland the shiznit are the ability to access talent and attract players to your organization. As one poster eloquently alluded to, Lowe's an arrogant SOB, and veteran players have known not to come to Edmonton in the past. We're stuck in the New York Islanders rebuild, albeit after how many years and so many failed experiments finally succeeded. All we can look forward to is eventually gaining enough young talent so we can't help but win. Any GM in the NHL could do that. It takes a brain like Bryan Murray to escape the shackles of a painful rebuild.

If MacT makes that bold deal, I'll be his first nuthugger, well, sorta.

Sather won his cups as a coach and a GM. What has Lowe won since he stopped following Messier around... crickets... besides my opinion of low has nothing to do with Sather. I judge the man on his own record. Lowe being a living piece of hockey paraphernalia for Katz. Does not excuse his arrogance and mismanagement of my beloved Oilers.

As a side note the next time Sourays in town we should give him an ovation for being the only person on the "inside" to call out Klowe and company.

Sather won his cups as a coach and a GM. What has Lowe won since he stopped following Messier around... crickets... besides my opinion of low has nothing to do with Sather. I judge the man on his own record. Lowe being a living piece of hockey paraphernalia for Katz. Does not excuse his arrogance and mismanagement of my beloved Oilers.

As a side note the next time Sourays in town we should give him an ovation for being the only person on the "inside" to call out Klowe and company.

I got a Souray Jersey,

however being a second rate fan I don't have a ticket tonight. I declare we start a Souray fan club. I vow to bring a sign next season to a Anaheim game that says:

SOURAY, WE'RE SORRY, YOU WERE RIGHT ALL ALONG, NOT ALL US FANS BELIEVE THE PROPAGANDA....

Heck, I wish I could afford tickets for the next five games...Someone really needs to start the "FIRE LO-WE!" chants. I'd settle for a give us Wang chant too to send a message to Katz.

My wife walked by the other day as I was watching Post Game interviews and she couldn't believe how big Taylor Hall looked compared to previous years..I think the rehab from that shoulder surgery probably included a ton of upper body workouts, RNH will be fine, if anything this could be a blessing in disguise, would've been nice if Oilers would've called a surgery date a month ago but if he gets the surgery this week it gives him a bit over six months before the start of next season, he will be fine..bigger, stronger, better.

Sather won his cups as a coach and a GM. What has Lowe won since he stopped following Messier around... crickets... besides my opinion of low has nothing to do with Sather. I judge the man on his own record. Lowe being a living piece of hockey paraphernalia for Katz. Does not excuse his arrogance and mismanagement of my beloved Oilers.

As a side note the next time Sourays in town we should give him an ovation for being the only person on the "inside" to call out Klowe and company.

I agree.......good assessment. Now it all makes sense why so many players in the NHL said so many negative things about management........KLowe is a clown and Burke was right about him.

My wife walked by the other day as I was watching Post Game interviews and she couldn't believe how big Taylor Hall looked compared to previous years..I think the rehab from that shoulder surgery probably included a ton of upper body workouts, RNH will be fine, if anything this could be a blessing in disguise, would've been nice if Oilers would've called a surgery date a month ago but if he gets the surgery this week it gives him a bit over six months before the start of next season, he will be fine..bigger, stronger, better.

This just puts the final nail in the Tambo coffin. If he had this information before the trade deadline I'd wonder wtf he was thinking. Did Tambo think that this team would go far with his number 1 center with a bum shoulder? If he did have this information then his firing was even more necessary. I wouldn't have said a word if had the balls to take him off the shelf a month ago and told ON that RNH needed the same surgery as Hall. I could live with that. Beyond the fact the person is more important than the team. It behooves a GM to make short term descisions like this if he was aware of it. If you have knowledge that RNH needs surgery you don't even ask the player if it can wait. You call him into the room and tell him he is done and go get the surgery. See you next year. Piss me off it wasn't done sooner. Tambo if he knew should have known better. That what he was getting paid for as GM.

My wife walked by the other day as I was watching Post Game interviews and she couldn't believe how big Taylor Hall looked compared to previous years..I think the rehab from that shoulder surgery probably included a ton of upper body workouts, RNH will be fine, if anything this could be a blessing in disguise, would've been nice if Oilers would've called a surgery date a month ago but if he gets the surgery this week it gives him a bit over six months before the start of next season, he will be fine..bigger, stronger, better.

I hope you're right but consider Hall a year or so ago if not more, was already 195 pounds, i suspect Hopkins is 175 at best if not less

Last time I looked Lowe doesn't have a puppet job, he is being paid to do something. It was both he and Tambo. Lighten up. If you want to consistently display obtuse ignorant logic, I'm sure the Canuck army would welcome you with open arms.

If you're going to disagree, do it with a well constructed argument. Caps lock is not a substitute for logic.

This just puts the final nail in the Tambo coffin. If he had this information before the trade deadline I'd wonder wtf he was thinking. Did Tambo think that this team would go far with his number 1 center with a bum shoulder? If he did have this information then his firing was even more necessary. I wouldn't have said a word if had the balls to take him off the shelf a month ago and told ON that RNH needed the same surgery as Hall. I could live with that. Beyond the fact the person is more important than the team. It behooves a GM to make short term descisions like this if he was aware of it. If you have knowledge that RNH needs surgery you don't even ask the player if it can wait. You call him into the room and tell him he is done and go get the surgery. See you next year. Piss me off it wasn't done sooner. Tambo if he knew should have known better. That what he was getting paid for as GM.

Can you imagine the ON rage if RNH hangs it up after the 8-2 oiler win that had up in the playoffs for a day ? Mathematically eliminated is the only time to pull the plug folks ....

You liked the 20% odds of making the playoffs after the 8-2 win, eh? Worth sacrificing the first month or two of next season? Doesn't make sense to this fan.

After not getting a sniff of the playoffs in seven years plus the need to experience the playoffs for the core it makes sense to me. Keep in mind I am not a season ticket holder and don't matter anyway :)

You liked the 20% odds of making the playoffs after the 8-2 win, eh? Worth sacrificing the first month or two of next season? Doesn't make sense to this fan.

Good point. Stick another nail in the coffin of this corpse which we call the 2012-2013 season. Why wait? It really sticks in my craw how this looks like Souray all over again. We play him till he breaks totally? We need to ensure that we send the message that we put people above winning. That is what Oil Country is about. That is what makes us great. Its people. The game is secondary. Always.

the oilers are the worst run organization in the league. its not even close. they are just embarking on their comical journey of futility. as oiler fans we will know nothing but anger, frustration and embarrassment.